Kangaroo meat exports jump even as drought culls supply

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Exports of kangaroo meat have bounced to an all-time high, with
hunters expected to take the maximum quota for the first time.

Australian kangaroos are a popular delicacy in some of the
finest restaurants in France and Germany.

They are stocked on British supermarket shelves and are even
used in Russian sausages.

But the drought has meant there are fewer kangaroos available to
be shot to meet the demand.

Professional shooter Ron Cugley, from Deniliquin in southern
NSW, normally shoots up to 40 kangaroos a night with his customised
Remington .223 rifle.

"The drought means the kangaroo population has dropped to around
half what there were two years ago," Mr Cugley said.

"People out there are screaming for kangaroo meat. The fall in
supply means the price is good and the demand is high."

The Australian Government quota for kangaroos to be culled in
NSW is almost 1.2 million this year compared with 2.1 million in
2002.

Mr Cugley, 59, field dresses the kangaroos he shoots each night
and puts them in a chiller for collection by the Australian Meats
processing factory truck. He commands 80 cents a kilogram. This
compares with the 50 cents he got when the kangaroo population was
high.

Australian Meats general manager Wayne Earls said: "The prices
for kangaroo meat from overseas are very good but there is a
shortage of supply."

Kangaroo Industry executive officer John Kelly said: "The
industry is at its most buoyant. We are doing well on export and it
is being accepted in the local market - it is in Coles nationally
now."

The kangaroo industry employs 4000 people nationally - half of
whom are hunters - and is worth $200 million a year.

"We export to over 60 countries and have grown at a rate of
around 5 per cent per annum for the last 20 years," Mr Kelly
said.

"There are not many rural industries that can say that."

He said this year's low quota, about 10 to 12 per cent of the
total kangaroo population, meant that the industry would probably
take the full quota for the first time.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service manages the commercial
shooting of kangaroos by issuing the shooters with sequentially
numbered tags that are placed on each carcass.

Despite the drought, Mr Kelly said the kangaroo remained a
"super abundant" species with man-made waterholes ensuring their
survival.